What are the 14 allergens UK restaurants must declare?

Celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites, and tree nuts.

Does Natasha's Law apply to my restaurant menu?

Natasha's Law applies specifically to prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food — items you package on site before a customer orders them. A restaurant serving food made to order is not covered by the PPDS labelling requirement, but still must provide accurate allergen information for all 14 allergens, and since March 2025 the FSA expects that to be in writing.

What is the penalty for allergen non-compliance in the UK?

It is a criminal offence under the Food Safety Act 1990. The maximum penalty on conviction on indictment is an unlimited fine and up to two years' imprisonment.

Do allergen rules apply to daily specials?

Yes. Specials carry exactly the same obligations as the standard menu, and they are where most real-world failures happen because the allergen information is not updated alongside the dish.

Guide

UK allergen rules for restaurants: Natasha's Law and the 14 allergens

Every UK food business must give accurate information on 14 regulated allergens. Food you package on site before a customer orders it needs a full ingredients list with allergens emphasised — that is Natasha's Law. Since March 2025 the FSA also expects written allergen information for non-prepacked menu items rather than a verbal "ask a member of staff".

Last reviewed July 2026

The 14 regulated allergens

Celery
Cereals containing gluten — wheat, rye, barley and oats
Crustaceans
Eggs
Fish
Lupin
Milk
Molluscs
Mustard
Peanuts
Sesame
Soybeans
Sulphur dioxide and sulphites above 10mg/kg or 10mg/litre
Tree nuts — almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios and macadamias

What Natasha's Law covers

Natasha's Law came into force in October 2021 and applies to prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food — anything packaged on the premises where it is sold, before the customer asks for it. A sandwich wrapped and put in a chiller is PPDS. A sandwich made to order at the counter is not.

PPDS food must carry the product name and a full ingredients list, with any of the 14 allergens emphasised within that list — typically in bold. A separate allergen box alongside an unemphasised ingredients list does not satisfy the requirement.

What good practice looks like in service

1Hold allergen data against each menu item in one system, not in a laminated folder that diverges from the menu the moment a special changes.
2Make the data visible at the point where a server takes the order, so nobody walks to the kitchen to ask.
3Write allergen information on the menu itself for non-prepacked dishes, and invite the customer to speak to staff about cross-contamination risk.
4Never claim a dish is free from an allergen unless you can control cross-contact in your actual kitchen. "May contain" used as a blanket disclaimer on everything is treated as meaningless.
5Re-check specials and supplier substitutions. Most real-world allergen incidents come from an ingredient that changed, not from a menu that was wrong when written.
6Record allergen training and keep it current for every food handler.

Penalties

Breaching allergen requirements is a criminal offence under the Food Safety Act 1990. On summary conviction the penalty is a fine; on conviction on indictment it is an unlimited fine and up to two years' imprisonment. Where an allergen failure contributes to a death, prosecutions have proceeded on manslaughter charges.

How your EPOS should help

The practical failure mode is drift: the menu changes, the allergen matrix does not. Holding allergen tags on the menu item itself — so that editing the dish and editing its allergens is the same action — removes the gap. In BMTable, allergen and dietary tags live on the item and surface to front-of-house at order time and on the kitchen display.

Allergen questions

What are the 14 allergens UK restaurants must declare?: Celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites, and tree nuts.
Does Natasha's Law apply to my restaurant menu?: Natasha's Law applies specifically to prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food — items you package on site before a customer orders them. A restaurant serving food made to order is not covered by the PPDS labelling requirement, but still must provide accurate allergen information for all 14 allergens, and since March 2025 the FSA expects that to be in writing.
Can I just tell customers to ask a member of staff about allergens?: That alone is no longer considered good practice. The FSA's March 2025 guidance expects written allergen information for non-prepacked food, with staff conversation as a supporting step rather than the only method.
What is the penalty for allergen non-compliance in the UK?: It is a criminal offence under the Food Safety Act 1990. The maximum penalty on conviction on indictment is an unlimited fine and up to two years' imprisonment.
Do allergen rules apply to daily specials?: Yes. Specials carry exactly the same obligations as the standard menu, and they are where most real-world failures happen because the allergen information is not updated alongside the dish.